Phalaenopsis Species ID

[mremensnyder]

Can anyone determine which Phalaenopsis species this is please. I lost the tag a long time ago.

[Roberta]

Doesn't look like a species to me... a nice white hybrid, no way of identifying, there are extremely many that look like this. Enjoy!

Note... a species is what occurs in nature. Then, humans mix and match, to produce hybrids with desired characteristics (color, size, round shape, number of flowers, presentation, longevity, etc.)

[Lil Duck]

If you are confident it is a species then the two candidates are Phalaenopsis amabilis and Phalaenopsis aphrodite, to me it looks closer to Phal amabilis than Phal aphrodite and I believe Phal amabilis is also generally more common in cultivation.

How large are the flowers?? That will help greatly. Measure once the flower is fully expanded.

Edit : Check out this cool image that shows the size difference between the two species

[Roberta]

It it is, indeed, a species, it will be a lot easier to make an educated guess once the flower is all the way open, and with some good closeups of the flower.

[mremensnyder]

Thank you all for your analysis! As much as I hope it is a species, as I am a total species snob, I think it is a small statured Phalaenopsis white hybrid from a big box store.

When all of the blooms open, I will post some more photos to get a final opinion.

-Michael

[Roberta]

One clue might be provenance... if you sought it out and bought it from a source that has species (a grower, or Asian vendor who imports them) , it might be. If someone gave it to you or it came from a society auction or raffle, it's very likely a hybrid... people don't usually give away species casually. Not very scientific, but a clue...